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Wage hike gains support

By Matt Murphy, State House News Service

Updated:
06/13/2013 08:06:33 AM EDT

House Minority Leader Brad Jones has signaled a willingness to negotiate on a minimum wage hike for low-wage workers, prioritizing other reforms that could be beneficial for business but not slamming the door on a wage increase that business interests have red flagged.

Frequently aligned with business on issues pertaining to job growth and competitiveness, Jones' initial position on the minimum wage highlights the possibility that the issue of raising the minimum wage this session could transcend party politics, under certain circumstances.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez on Tuesday night expressed his support for raising the federal minimum wage of $7.25 to $10.

Though state Republicans lack the numbers to directly impact the outcome of a vote on Beacon Hill, they can work to shape the direction of the debate and bring along more conservative and border Democrats worried about impacts on business in their districts. Some business leaders have warned a mandated wage increase could slow hiring and make Massachusetts less competitive with neighboring states.

"As drafted, I am not supportive of the three bills before the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development which attempt to address the state's minimum wage," Jones said in a statement after the Democrat-controlled committee hosted a hearing on bills to raise the minimum wage.

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Jones said any discussion on increasing the minimum wage from its current level of $8 per hour "must include, in part, serious consideration of substantial reforms to our unemployment insurance system, as well as due attention to the elimination of the outdated practice of paying retail employees time and a half for work on Sundays."

"Until this conversation takes place, I cannot in good faith endorse any of the current proposals," Jones said. A spokesman for Jones said the North Reading Republican would not necessarily support a minimum wage increase even if the reforms he seeks are included in a wage bill, or separate legislation.

Senate President Therese Murray has encouraged a discussion about increasing the minimum wage, as well as reforms to the unemployment insurance system. So far, the debate has been focused on bills filed by Sen. Marc Pacheco and Rep. Antonio Cabral that would raise the wage to $11 an hour over three years, and index the rate to inflation.

"Increasing the minimum wage is economically unsustainable, detrimental to the very workers whom advocates say they want to help, and damaging to the state's reputation as a place for business," National Federation of Independent Business State Director William Vernon said during Tuesday's hearing.

Retailers Association of Massachusetts President Jon Hurst has also argued that small businesses cannot afford to pay higher wages and continue to hire new employees. Hurst said any increase in the wage must be accompanied by a repeal of the law requiring overtime pay on Sundays.

"I don't believe it ought to be a partisan issue. It's about folks who work 40 hours earning enough to support their families without having to take public subsidies," Cabral told the News Service.

Cabral said he's "open to having a discussion" about some aspects of his minimum wage bill, but questioned whether Jones and other opponents were just trying to distract from the core issue of paying a living wage.

Cabral said small employers with less than seven workers on duty at any given store on a Sunday are already exempt from paying time-and-a-half, lifting the burden on small, family-owned businesses and some large corporations with multiple locations that don't require heavy staffing.

"I don't know if this is a serious discussion at this point or an excuse for not supporting a wage we ought to support for working people," Cabral said.

As for unemployment insurance reform, Cabral said it depends on what changes Jones wants to see. The New Bedford Democrat called familiar proposals to cut back on the duration of benefits from 30 weeks to 26 weeks a "race to the bottom."

Murray has yet to specify a dollar figure she would support for the minimum wage, but on Tuesday did raise concerns about a proposal in the Pacheco-Cabral bill to increase the base wage for tipped employees to 70 percent of the minimum wage paid to non-service workers.

Cabral said tipped workers deserve a base pay increase from the current $2.63 an hour, but said he would be willing to negotiate on that number as well as the timeline for phasing in the $3 increase in hourly pay.

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